Incentives may be revoked if conditions for support are breached, MTI says in reply to Ubisoft question
WP MP Gerald Giam had asked about Singapore’s support for French game developer
COMPANIES that invest in Singapore may have existing incentives and other benefits revoked if they fail to meet conditions for government support, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said in Parliament on Tuesday (Mar 4).
He was responding to Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC), who asked for the total amount of government subsidies, grants and other financial support provided to French game developer Ubisoft from 2008 to 2024.
Giam also wanted to know what key performance indicators or conditions were attached to such support, in terms of local talent development, leadership roles for Singaporeans and knowledge transfer.
Tan replied that he could not disclose details of agreements with individual companies, due to confidentiality clauses and commercial sensitivities.
However, he noted that the government has a suite of economic incentives and tools to attract investments and support companies to grow and to transform their businesses.
Companies that receive such support must meet key outcomes such as job creation, local employment, business spending or fixed asset investment.
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If they fail to meet these conditions, the government has mechanisms to claw back subsidies from them, Tan added.
In a supplementary question, Giam asked if the Singapore Economic Development Board has ever clawed back funding for companies that do not fulfil their obligations.
Tan reiterated that he could not comment on individual company agreements but said the claw-back mechanisms applied to existing incentives and their associated benefits.
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Ubisoft has been in Singapore for 15 years, noted Tan. It has trained over 780 Singaporean and permanent residents – some of whom have become “local leaders” – as well as onboarded over 150 interns.
The Singapore team has also been involved in producing sequels to one of the company’s flagship titles, Assassin’s Creed.
Tan said there has been “good flow down and impact on creating very new, exciting jobs on the game developer space”, adding that the government supports this ecosystem.
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